Billy polished four sermons he memorized from a book, a common practice. He had in his head what he figured were at least two hours of preaching. Who knew when he would be called? Sure enough, Billy soon got his call: he preached one night at a small church near Palatka. He raged on the pulpit. In fact he blasted out all four of his sermons in less than ten minutes! The wide-eyed congregation looked like they had been machine-gunned. Billy felt miserable. Why couldn't he slow down and speak like a real preacher? Night after night he agonized over doubts. For the first time in his life he could not sleep. He developed back aches and took to lying on the floor to ease the pain. Sometimes he had to leave his dorm room and wander the grounds. Maybe he shouldn't be a preacher at all.
[sources: Billy Graham: The Authorized Biography by John Pollock, 1966, and A Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story by William Martin, 1991]
Anything that has great possibilities also carries with it a certain amount of risk - the risk of failure. So many of us are afraid of failure, though, that we find ourselves never attempting anything that will make a great difference in our life or other's lives.
The story about Billy Graham above simply reminds us that everyone fails. The people we regard in high esteem did not get accomplish the great things we remember them for without experiencing failure along the way. Imagine if Billy Graham was afraid of failure! Imagine if he was so embarassed at this failure that he quit the ministry!
Often God will use our failures to mold us and shape us for the success we will eventually experience. Don't be afraid of failing, and don't be embarassed of failure in your life! It's a part of the process of "less of me, more of you, Lord."
[sources: Billy Graham: The Authorized Biography by John Pollock, 1966, and A Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story by William Martin, 1991]
Anything that has great possibilities also carries with it a certain amount of risk - the risk of failure. So many of us are afraid of failure, though, that we find ourselves never attempting anything that will make a great difference in our life or other's lives.
The story about Billy Graham above simply reminds us that everyone fails. The people we regard in high esteem did not get accomplish the great things we remember them for without experiencing failure along the way. Imagine if Billy Graham was afraid of failure! Imagine if he was so embarassed at this failure that he quit the ministry!
Often God will use our failures to mold us and shape us for the success we will eventually experience. Don't be afraid of failing, and don't be embarassed of failure in your life! It's a part of the process of "less of me, more of you, Lord."
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